TOWN PLANNING

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLIII, Issue 20672, 10 March 1937, Page 8

TOWN PLANNING

NATIONAL SURVEY PROPOSED PRAISE FOR TIMARU The question of town planning was discussed at some length by the Minister of Internal Affairs (the Hon. W. E. Parry) in the course of an address which he gave at the opening of the Municipal Conference in Timaru last night. “Two town-planning schemes have been finally approved; and there could be no more fitting occasion than the opening of a Municipal Conference at Timaru to say that the first general town-planning scheme to be approved for a district in this Dominion is that of the Borough of Timaru,’ said Mr Parry. “The production of that scheme, which was attended with many difficulties over a very long period, is a tribute to the zeal, courage, enthusiasm and tact of those Councillors and officials of Timaru Borough who stuck steadfastly to the tas! and whose real work is perhaps known only to a very few. The other approved scheme is for Papatoetoe, near Auckland. Here again a word of praise is due to the enthusiasm of the chairman of the Papatoetoe Town Board and his colleagues for the manner in which they held to their task.” The Minister said that the Government had decided to have the townplanning officer attached to the staff of the appropriate Department. The work would thus come directly under the control of the Minister in Charge. To this end Cabinet had agreed to the appointment of a highly qualified townplanning officer to the staff of the Internal Affairs Department. That officer would work in close contact with the Town-Planning Board and the basis of his duties would be to cooperate with local bodies in facilitating the principles of town-planning as applied to the conditions in the Dominion. They realised that there were difficulties, but what they were aiming at was that in the future towns should be properly planned from a town-plan-ning standard and the mistakes of the past not allowed to occur again. Comprehensive Survey The Minister said that he proposed to institute a comprehensive survey of New Zealand, with the idea of providing data on which local government could in future work more efficiently. “I attach very great importance to this proposed survey,’ said Mr Parry. “Since I have been a Minister of the Crown, I have frequently found my- , self voting in Cabinet for expenditure of large sums of money on roads, bridges and other public facilities. On the face of it, the proposed work seemed right, but each time I have wondered whether, if a really scientific survey had first been made, we would be constructing roads, bridges and other facilities at the same points and in the same directions. I have felt sev- | eral times that the work was one of expediencey or that we were just slavishly following the route that seemed to be right or that had been left by our predecessors. In other words, have we not already constructed roads and bridges, and even railways in fact that later years have proved wrong? lam not blaming anyone particularly foz such a lack of information. I know 1 that past generations have had their problems ,the same as we have ours. But I do hope that, as the result of the survey, we will be able to plan our works and methods in the future that a repetition of this will not take place.” Involve a Great Deal Mr Parry said that the survey would involve a great deal more than mere physical and geographical features. On the physical side it would involve a survey of the natural resources, sucn as water, soils and climate, problems of transport and land utilisation, land tenure and the like. But having surveyed the physical problems, it was most important that attention should be paid to the sociological questions at issue. Problems of the trends of population, regional distribution and migration, public welfare, problems of health, recreation, the possibilities of the effective utilisation of leisure (he mentioned both these matters in his address last, year, and they were making progress with them both) must all find a place in the survey. It was hoped that from the survey would emerge, not only a factual statement of conditions as they were, but some recommendations as to the lines along which they should move in order to promote greater service to the community as a whole. When it was found possible to commence this survey (and the exploratory work had already been done in this regard) it was confidently expected that the local authorities would co-operate to the very best oi their ability. “Might I conclude this portion c my remarks by saying that the progress we have made in town-planning in the very brief time we have so far had, is : fc- indicative of what we will do if we are given the opportunity and if all interests will pull together,” said Mr Parry.